US Assistant Defence Secretary Alexander Vershbow said in the Georgian capital that Washington was consulting only with members of the alliance after the United States scrapped a previous plan that had angered Russia.

"We are not consulting with any non-NATO countries and we do not envisage the emplacement of elements of our new architecture on the territory of any non-NATO states," he told reporters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced concern over the new missile shield plans earlier this month after US media quoted Vershbow as saying that Washington might consider ex-Soviet Ukraine as part of the system.

Media reports have also raised the possibility of Georgia, another ex-Soviet republic, hosting some elements.

Vershbow also said Washington was in consultations with Russia on missile defence.

"We've begun some very preliminary consultations with Russia on any contributions it could make with its own assets... but these discussions are at a very early stage," he said.

Vershbow confirmed that the United States was "not discussing or contemplating the establishment" of a military base in Georgia.

Ties between Moscow and Washington were badly strained by Russia's war with US-allied Georgia in August 2008 and Russia's subsequent recognition of the Georgian rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent.

Recent reports in the Russian and Georgian press had raised the possibility of the United States establishing a base with a significant number of troops in Georgia.

Vershbow's comments came after he met with senior Georgian officials to discuss the implementation of a US-Georgian strategic partnership accord signed in January.

He said the talks had focused on improving Georgia's defence capabilities, bringing its military closer to NATO standards and Georgia's contribution to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.

Russia has repeatedly accused the United States of supplying arms to Georgia, but Vershbow insisted that military cooperation was focused on strategic planning.

"Our current focus is on doctrine, education and training," Vershbow said.

Asked specifically about arms supplies, he said: "We are not taking any steps that would be counterproductive to our mutual goal of peace and stability in the region."

He said the US has "concerns about the full compliance on the part of Russia" to a ceasefire agreement that ended last year's war, and said Washington hopes to see international monitors deployed within Georgia's rebel regions.

"We are also trying to find a way to put international eyes and ears, an international presence, back into the occupied territories in order to contribute to the de-escalation of tensions," he said.

Monitors from the European Union are deployed in Georgia under the ceasefire agreement but they have been denied access to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgia's deputy foreign minister, Giga Bokeria, told journalists that Vershbow's visit was of the "utmost importance" and that cooperation with the United States would help "increase Georgia's defence capabilities, military modernisation and allow Georgia to be closer to NATO standards."

Georgia's pro-Western government has sought to bring the country into the NATO military alliance, angering Moscow, which is deeply suspicious of any military cooperation between Georgia and the West.

earlier related report
Biden heads to Poland, Romania, Czech Republic
Washington (AFP) Oct 20 - Vice President Joe Biden headed to eastern Europe Tuesday for what critics mocked as an apology tour to soothe tensions with Poland and the Czech Republic after shelving a Bush-era missile shield.

Officials deny that Biden is being sent on a mission to pacify the two US partners, on a trip also including Romania. They also say that the US desire to "reset" ties with Russia will not come at the expense of existing allies.

President Barack Obama announced last month that he would replace the anti-ballistic missile shield envisioned by his predecessor George W. Bush, which was to have been partly based in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"The more allies heard and discussed what we are proposing, the stronger their support," said Tony Blinken, Biden's top national security adviser.

Blinken blamed intense early disappointment in Warsaw and Prague following Obama's announcement on misleading media coverage.

"It was unfortunate that some of the initial headlines talked about the US abandoning missile defense in Europe," Blinken told reporters on a conference call.

"It is exactly the opposite; the approach we are taking strengthens missile defense in Europe."

Obama decided to develop a more mobile system, initially based at sea, targeting short- and medium-range Iranian missiles which intelligence analysts now believe pose more of a threat than yet-to-be developed long-range weapons.

Last week, a US defense official said Washington will deploy ground-to-air Patriot missiles in Poland in 2010 and had given Warsaw the chance to host land-based SM-3 missiles for the new European shield system.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said in an interview on Tuesday that the new proposal was "not bad" but that he would quiz Biden on Wednesday on when it might be completed.

"This new framework is not bad....The question is when this (shield system) will be built. This will be the key question during our meeting," he told Polish public television.

Some commentators in Poland and the Czech Republic accused Washington of rewarding a belligerent Moscow at the expense of the two ex-Warsaw Pact countries, which took risks to back the plan under the Bush administration.

Hours before Biden left, Obama's Republican critics accused the administration of "selling out allies" and sending his vice president "to apologize" and patch things up.

And the Republican National Committee said Obama's missile shield shift "did nothing to counter the growing Iranian nuclear threat" or win Moscow's support for punishing sanctions meant to bow the Islamic republic.

Biden was to arrive in Warsaw late Tuesday to start the three-day trip to the NATO allies, the latest high-profile foreign policy mission for the vice president.

On Wednesday, he will meet US embassy staff, hold a working lunch with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and then see President Lech Kaczynski before leaving for Bucharest in the evening.

On Thursday, Biden will hold talks with Romanian President Traian Basescu and also see Prime Minister Emil Boc, deliver a speech focused on US relations with central Europe, and meet leading opposition leaders.

On Friday, Biden will be in Prague and hold talks with Prime Minister Jan Fischer and President Vaclav Klaus, and will meet key opposition leaders before returning home to Washington.

"Our ears are open," Blinken said, adding that US decisions on missile defense and Russian relations were taken with full consultation and discussion with US eastern European allies.

Biden will also discuss energy security and combating climate change with the three governments, as well as trade and investment as the global economy emerges from the worst economic crisis in decades.

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